City of Kent, Ohio: Engineering Division

The existing Crain Avenue Bridge over the Cuyahoga River and CSX Rail lines is in Poor Condition based on General Appraisals of the bridge. In addition, a 2001 inspection rated the bridge as structurally deficient. Portage County, the owner of the bridge, has performed repairs annually on the structure over the last several years to maintain the bridge crossing.

The bridge is one of only five bridges crossing the Cuyahoga River in the City. The bridge serves approximately 15,000 vehicles per day, making it the second most active crossing in the City. The intersection of SR 43/Crain/Fairchild Avenue is also the most highly congested intersection in Portage and Summit counties.

The project currently has obtained $13.25 million in federal funds from AMATS, ODOT and the County Engineers Association of Ohio (CEAO).

The project used the Context Sensitive Design (CSD) process to determine the purpose and needs of the project as well as other community goals. Pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular safety were critical in the layout of the project. The project includes the following major items:

Phase 2 Construction continues with the following:

The road work on the main portion of Fairchild Avenue is complete, and the contractor is now proceeding to perform the road work at the intersection of Fairchild and S.R. 43. This work should be completed and Fairchild Avenue opened later this December.
Construction on the east side of S.R. 43 is complete, while construction on the west side at Fairchild Avenue is now being performed. This work should also be completed and S.R. 43 opened later this December.
The Fairchild Bridge beams have been set and the concrete bridge deck should be poured later this fall.
Work on the ABC Railroad near Main Street is almost complete for this season, including construction of retaining walls and reconstruction of a portion of the railroad tracks.
Retaining walls for the Bike Path tunnel which passes beneath the Fairchild Bridge are nearly complete.
The new Sheetz is under construction on the corner of S.R. 43 and Fairchild Ave. and construction is being coordinated between the two projects

High Water Hazard Continues:

An access causeway is installed on the Cuyahoga River just downstream of the Crain Avenue Bridge, approximately one mile downstream of the River Bend put-in and 100 yards upstream of Brady’s Leap.
Restricts the river flow from 70 feet wide to a 21 foot wide sluice with a bridge crossing.
Paddlers should avoid the area during high water flows.
Paddlers should take extra precaution to check the water conditions at this causeway before entering the waterway.

Construction Traffic Update:

Currently, Fairchild Avenue is detoured.
Both Northbound and Southbound traffic on S.R. 43 are shifted to the east side of the road and reduced to one lane in each direction between Rockwell Ave. and Stinaff St.
Access between S.R. 43 and Cuyahoga and Stinaff Streets is currently prohibited.
Phase 2 will continue through a portion of the winter with the Fairchild Avenue detour and lane closures on S.R. 43.

· Access to businesses and residences will be maintained.

Train sitting adjacent to the contractor's retaining wall construction site at the ABC Railroad and Star of the West Grain Mill.

Recently paved Fairchild Avenue, looking across at the new Fairchild Avenue Bridge